What's Mine Is Yours
by theplaywrite
Summary: It took Laura three years to return Almanzo's robe after her fight with Nellie. Will he accept it after all this time?


What's Mine Is Yours

The house was quiet. Laura had never lived in a home this quiet before. The little house at Plum Creek always seemed to have people running around inside of it, finishing chores or conversing about the day's work. Even when nobody was home, the sound of animals and the weather outside gave enough background noise to distract you from your own dark thoughts. Laura's new home was not like that. The walls were thick and the abundance of furniture absorbed any wandering noise. The only sound Laura could hear was the taping of her own feet on the hardwood floor as she walked around the house.

Having been married a few months now, Laura was finally getting the hang of being a proper homemaker. It took some time for her to learn how to take care of a new house and manage being a full-time school teacher, all while sharing a life with her husband. She had to admit that even though marrying Almanzo Wilder was a dream come true and she would never regret it, things were a bit stressful their first few months of marriage.

Almanzo was away on a delivery to Sleepy Eye and would not be back until late that night. Not having to cook supper for another person meant that Laura could make herself a quick sandwich and finish her grading early. Now that the sun had set below the horizon, the young woman yawned as she climbed up the stairs to her shared bedroom.

Laura immediately went for the dresser set, so she could change out of her daytime clothes into her more comfortable nightwear. She opened the drawer and sifted through the fabric. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw a reddish brown pattern buried underneath her normal clothes. Laura pulled the soft material out and held it up to let it unfold itself.

"Manly's robe?" She questioned to herself once she identified the garment. "How'd this get in here?"

Laura thought for a moment. She could not remember getting her and Almanzo's clothes mixed up the last time she did the wash. Come to think of it, she could not remember the last time Almanzo wore this particular robe either. Then, it all came flooding back to her.

Three years ago, Laura had gotten into a fight with Nellie Oleson and ended up covered in polluted water and mud. Almanzo saw the two girls fighting, pulled Laura away and brought her back to what was then his sister's house. Almanzo gave Laura this exact robe to wear while her clothes soaked. Then Pa came bursting in, punching Almanzo in the face out of anger and jealousy. Laura remembered how awful she felt as she stormed out of the house that day, wearing this robe. She wore his robe for hours after going back to the little house, even having a heart to heart conversation with her Pa in it.

She had meant to return it, but it seemed that never happened. She thought of one night a few days after the fight, when the night air was so cold, Laura slipped out of bed and went to where she had been keeping the robe. She wrapped it around herself, taking in the smell and comfort it gave her. After that night, she had hidden the garment away, hidden it so well that even she had forgotten about it. She must have just picked it up with her other clothes when she moved out of the little house without even realizing.

"Oh Manly." Laura whispered to herself. It was wrong for her to have kept it all this time and never return it, but did that even really matter now? Her and Almanzo lived under the same roof and shared the same bed. Who knows, he might get a kick out of seeing his lost possession finally returned home after all this time. Laura placed the robe on top of the drawers where Almanzo kept his clothes and proceeded to get ready for bed.

A few hours went by when Laura heard horses and wagon wheel approaching her home. She glanced out of the window and saw the shadow that was Almanzo setting the team up for the night. She sat in bed and waited for him, wondering if he would even notice the robe.

Almanzo was exhausted from the lonely ride and trudged his feet upstairs. He saw the smallest bit of oil lamp light coming from the bedroom, letting him know that his wife was still awake. "You didn't have to wait up for me, Beth." Almanzo said as he entered the room.

"I know." Laura smiled at the sight of her husband. "But I wanted to see you. You look pretty tired."

"Yea. The normal road to Sleepy Eye was blocked off to fix a bridge, so I had to take the long way around." Almanzo sat on the edge of the bed and began taking his boots off.

"You're not hungry, are you?"

"No. I just want to rest my eyes." Almanzo stood up and began undressing so he could get into his nightwear. Laura watched him, eager to see if he would notice the robe. After he had pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the dresser, Almanzo yawned and went straight for the bed. Laura shifted over, figuring she would have to wait until morning for Almanzo to notice. That was until she decided just to tell him so she could finally see his reaction.

"You didn't notice?" She stated bluntly.

"Notice what?" Almanzo turned over to her, completely unaware of what his wife was talking about.

"On top of the dresser, I left something there for you."

"What is it?" Almanzo sat up and looked over.

"Your robe."

"My robe? I didn't think you were doing the wash today."

"I didn't. I wanted to return it to you."

"What?" Almanzo put his feet on the floor and reached out for what he had missed. As he picked up the item, nothing seemed to click in his head. "I don't remember having this. Is it new?"

"No." Laura smiled again, thinking back to simpler times. "Remember way back when, I got into that fight with Nellie by the pond and you happened to be driving by. You dragged me away from the fight, brought me back here and gave me that robe to wear while my clothes were soaking in the tub."

That day was fuzzy in Almanzo's memory, until he thought about it some more and remembered getting punched by Charles. Maybe that was why he did not remember owning this robe. "Laura, that was almost three years ago. You had this robe the whole time and never returned it to me."

"Well I'm returning it to you now."

"Well I don't need it now that I have my other one." Almanzo thought for a second. "You can keep it." He smirked and handed the robe over to Laura.

"What?"

"We're married now, right? What's mine is yours. Besides, you've had it for this long, might as well keep it."

"Almanzo Wilder." Laura sighed as she accepted the robe once again. "I love you."

"And I love you, Beth." Almanzo leaned in and slowly kissed Laura before putting out the lamp and falling into a deep sleep beside his wife.


End file.
